John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the 3rd January, 1892 at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, but at the age of four he and his brother were taken back to England by their mother. After his father's death the family moved to Sarehole, on the south-eastern edge of Birmingham. Tolkien spent a happy childhood in the countryside and his sensibility to the rural landscape can clearly be seen in his writing and his pictures.
His mother died when he was only twelve and both he and his brother were made wards of the local priest and sent to King Edward's School, Birmingham, where Tolkien shone in his classical work. After completing a First in English Language and Literature at Oxford, Tolkien married Edith Bratt. He was also commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers and fought in the battle of the Somme. After the war, he obtained a post on the 'New English Dictionary' and began to write the mythological and legendary cycle which he originally called 'The Book of Lost Tales' but which eventually became known as 'The Silmarillion'.
In 1920 Tolkien was appointed Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds which was the beginning of a distinguished academic career culminating with his election as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. Meanwhile Tolkien wrote for his children and told them the story of 'The Hobbit'. It was his publisher, Stanley Unwin, who asked for a sequel to 'The Hobbit' and gradually Tolkien wrote 'The Lord of the Rings', a huge story that took twelve years to complete and which was not published until Tolkien was approaching retirement. After retirement Tolkien and his wife lived near Oxford, but then moved to Bournemouth. Tolkien returned to Oxford after his wife's death in 1971. He died on 2 September 1973 leaving 'The Silmarillion' to be edited for publication by his son, Christopher.
Genres: Fantasy
Series
Lord of the Rings
1. The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
2. The Two Towers (1954)
3. The Return of the King (1955)
1. The Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
2. The Two Towers (1954)
3. The Return of the King (1955)
History of Middle-Earth
1. The Book of Lost Tales (1983)
2. The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two (1984)
3. The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
4. The Shaping of Middle-Earth (1986)
5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)
1. The Book of Lost Tales (1983)
2. The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two (1984)
3. The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
4. The Shaping of Middle-Earth (1986)
5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)
The History of The Lord of the Rings
1. The Return of the Shadow (1988)
2. The Treason of Isengard (1989)
3. The War of the Ring (1990)
4. Sauron Defeated (1992)
1. The Return of the Shadow (1988)
2. The Treason of Isengard (1989)
3. The War of the Ring (1990)
4. Sauron Defeated (1992)
Great Tales of Middle-earth
1. The Children of Hurin (2007)
2. Beren and Luthien (2017)
3. The Fall of Gondolin (2018)
1. The Children of Hurin (2007)
2. Beren and Luthien (2017)
3. The Fall of Gondolin (2018)
Novels
The Hobbit (1937)
Farmer Giles of Ham (1949)
Roverandom (1997)
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun (2009)
The Story of Kullervo (2015)
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (2017)
Farmer Giles of Ham (1949)
Roverandom (1997)
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun (2009)
The Story of Kullervo (2015)
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (2017)
Omnibus
Collections
The Silmarillion (1937)
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (poems) (1962)
The Tolkien Reader (1964)
Tree and Leaf (1964)
Farmer Giles of Ham / Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1975)
The Father Christmas Letters (1976)
aka Letters from Father Christmas
Poems and Stories (1980)
Unfinished Tales (1980)
Smith of Wootton Major / Farmer Giles of Ham (1984)
Tales from the Perilous Realm (1993)
Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien (poems) (1993)
The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)
Smith of Wootton Major / Leaf by Niggle (2003)
The Fall of Arthur (poems) (2013)
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (poems) (1962)
The Tolkien Reader (1964)
Tree and Leaf (1964)
Farmer Giles of Ham / Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1975)
The Father Christmas Letters (1976)
aka Letters from Father Christmas
Poems and Stories (1980)
Unfinished Tales (1980)
Smith of Wootton Major / Farmer Giles of Ham (1984)
Tales from the Perilous Realm (1993)
Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien (poems) (1993)
The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)
Smith of Wootton Major / Leaf by Niggle (2003)
The Fall of Arthur (poems) (2013)
Picture Books
Novellas
Short Stories
Non fiction
A Middle English Vocabulary (1922)
Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (1937)
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981)
Finn and Hengest (1983)
The Monsters and the Critics (1983)
Tolkien Calendar 2010 (2009)
A Secret Vice (2016)
The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)
Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics (1937)
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981)
Finn and Hengest (1983)
The Monsters and the Critics (1983)
Tolkien Calendar 2010 (2009)
A Secret Vice (2016)
The Nature of Middle-earth (2021)
Anthologies containing stories by J R R Tolkien
Short stories
Bilbo Baggins and Smaug (1937) | |||
The Trolls (1937) | |||
Farmer Giles of Ham [short story] (1949) | |||
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil [short story] (1961) |
Awards
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Books about J R R Tolkien
Tolkien (1969) by Lin Carter
Master of Middle-Earth (1972) by Paul H Kocher
Lord Of The Elves and Eldils (1974) by Richard Purtill
Tolkien's World (1974) by Randel Helms
The Inklings (1978) by Humphrey Carpenter
The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (1978) by Robert Foster
The Fantasts (1984) by Edmund Little
J.R.R. Tolkien (1987) by Humphrey Carpenter
Tolkien in 20th Century (1987) by Anna Bramwell
Tolkien (1993) by David Day
Realms of Tolkien (1996)
Hobbit Companion (2000) by David Day
The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion (2001) by Jude Fisher
J.R.R.Tolkien (2001) by Michael White
The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) by Gary Russell
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Visual Companion (2002) by Jude Fisher
J.R.R.Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion (2003) by Richard Purtill
The Return of the King Visual Companion (2003) by Jude Fisher
J.R.R. Tolkien (2004) by Edward Willett
Tolkien and the Great War (2004) by John Garth
The Lord of the Rings Complete Visual Companion (2004) by Jude Fisher
Master of Middle-Earth (1972) by Paul H Kocher
Lord Of The Elves and Eldils (1974) by Richard Purtill
Tolkien's World (1974) by Randel Helms
The Inklings (1978) by Humphrey Carpenter
The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (1978) by Robert Foster
The Fantasts (1984) by Edmund Little
J.R.R. Tolkien (1987) by Humphrey Carpenter
Tolkien in 20th Century (1987) by Anna Bramwell
Tolkien (1993) by David Day
Realms of Tolkien (1996)
Hobbit Companion (2000) by David Day
The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion (2001) by Jude Fisher
J.R.R.Tolkien (2001) by Michael White
The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) by Gary Russell
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Visual Companion (2002) by Jude Fisher
J.R.R.Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion (2003) by Richard Purtill
The Return of the King Visual Companion (2003) by Jude Fisher
J.R.R. Tolkien (2004) by Edward Willett
Tolkien and the Great War (2004) by John Garth
The Lord of the Rings Complete Visual Companion (2004) by Jude Fisher
J R R Tolkien recommends

Zimiamvia (1992)
(Zimiamvia)
E R Eddison
"The greatest and most convincing writer of invented worlds I have read."

The Complete Fairy Tales (1999)
George MacDonald
"The magical, the fairy story... may be made a vehicle of mystery. This at least is what George MacDonald attempted, achieving stories of power and beauty when he succeeded."
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